The office was buzzing (pun intended) when a box of goodies arrived from Neve’s Bees ready for a product review. When the cardboard flap was lifted, it was like a summer meadow had been delivered to our doorstep, with beautiful little recyclable metal containers emblazoned with brightly coloured stickers. Everything in the box looks like it has been designed to bring maximum joy and certainly the review panel were excited to give these little pots a go.
Personally, I’m not much of a beauty product girl. Having suffered terribly, in the past, with eczema, I am very wary of what I put on my skin and my normal beauty routine comprises a warm flannel and an early night, but I had read up a little bit about Neve’s Bees products and understood that they are 100% natural, made using the purest natural plant oils and butters and beeswax. I didn’t hesitate to chose my trio of cute little pots.
Neve’s Bees Hand Salve
The largest of the trio is the Neve’s Bees Hand Salve which comes in six different evocative scents (again all naturally fragranced) or one completely plain and unfragranced. There is even a specific one for men with “a subtle fragrance of zingy grapefruit with woody cedarwood “. Grrrrr!
One reviewer made a beeline (pun intended) for the YlangYlang and Patchouli pot, broke the seal and got stuck in. The scent was fresh and dreamy. Her eyes closed as she inhaled it deeply. She smiled. We witnessed the beginning of a beautiful relationship as she commented on the deeply pleasing appearance of the salve in its little silver pot. It is smooth and tempting and seems a shame to sully the surface, but she couldn’t help but rub a finger across the top.
Slightly oily to the touch, one does not need much but it makes an immediate impact. She rubbed it into the back of her hand and it glistened for a moment and then began to sink into the skin.
“Easily absorbed. My hands felt softer immediately”
she later scribbled on her review sheet.
I couldn’t wait any longer and opened my own little pot of Lemon and Lavender. The scent is subtle but very clean. The lemon keeps it fresh and the lavender is present but not cloying. I was transported back to opening my grandmother’s airing cupboard and admiring her beautifully layered and pressed cotton sheets, a gentle, flowery scent hanging in the air.
I swirled my finger around the pot and applied it to my thirsty skin. I could almost hear my hands thanking me for finally giving them a little care and attention.
Others felt the same.
“My hands feel young again” scribbled one reviewer. “
A little greasy at first but it soaked in quickly and felt smooth and soft”.
“I’d recommend this to my friends”
wrote another.
“Fantastic smell”
wrote the tester of the Rosey Hand Salve
“and the scent lasts for a long time”.
These little pots are the perfect size to slip into your handbag or purse, pocket or backpack and keep handy for daily use. They are made in small batches and without any preservatives, so their use-by-date (about a year) is written on the back of the pot.
There’s plenty of salve in a pot and a little goes a long way. And you don’t have to just keep it for your hands. I popped a bit on my knobbly old elbows and they definitely look less like walnuts than they have for a while! I can see this hand salve finding a way into my life and, I would go so far as to say, that I might have to add another step to my beauty regime:
1) use Neve’s Bees Hand Salve
Neve’s Bees Lip Balm
Next on the table was the lip balm and who doesn’t love a lip balm? I am frequently scrabbling around in the bottom of my handbag for something to ease the horrible feeling of a tight, cracked mouth.
Laid out on the table were the most adorable little tins with cheerful packaging and tempting flavours. We circled our prey, eyeing each other up, whistling the theme tune to a Western. Should we choose the honey vanilla, the buttermint, the lemon & lime, the sweet grapefruit or the rosey? It was more enticing than a trip to the ice cream parlour.
I shot from the hip and picked up the honey vanilla, broke the little paper seal and slid back the tin lid. The scent was lovely – subtle and pleasant – a suggestion of vanilla rather than a full-blown candle shop. The little cake of balm is smooth and attractive and, again, seemed a shame to blemish with a finger, but my lips were in need. I smoothed on a healthy fingerful and rubbed it in.
This is good balm! It felt wonderful.
Other reviewers had similar thoughts.
“Beautifully, silky lips”
wrote one.
“Slides on and makes me want to pout”
wrote another.
“The smell lingers just under my nose and my lips feel amazing”.
“This is staying in my handbag”.
There was a slight debate about which flavour was the best but no conclusion was reached. Some love lavender, others prefer lemon. I was very happy with my honey vanilla. It’s just as well Neve’s Bees have come up with so many options, including unfragranced, for those who like it au naturel.
Whichever little tin floats your boat, you can rest assured that it is packed with pure, natural balm and, like us, you’ll be very happy with the way it makes your lips feel.
Pucker up!
Neve’s Bees Cuticle Butter
Last, but not least, we each helped ourselves to a pot of cuticle butter. Similar funky, joyful packaging, sporting bright oranges on a blue background, covers a small round metal tin. This cuticle butter only comes in lemon & orange and what a smell!
Everyone’s reaction was the same – beautiful! My nostrils couldn’t get enough and I became slightly light-headed as I inhaled hard. It really is a lovely mix of citrus and worth having in your pocket on a long journey just for the scent alone – to cover up any unpleasantness in your surroundings!
The panel of reviewers was a mixed bunch, some frequently indulging in manicures, others more at home with their hands in a compost heap than a salon, but everyone knew what to do. They rubbed a little bit of the butter onto their nails and cuticles and sat back to admire them.
I felt a bit like a 1950’s housewife as I stuck my hand out to admire my shiny nails and watched my glowing skin slowly absorb the waxy butter. Slightly greasy at first, it softens the cuticle and allows you to gently ease them back away from the nail. It was a very pleasant experience – so good, I shared it with my toes!
“I love this stuff. It’s now part of my daily routine”,
wrote one reviewer, adding a little heart to her scribbles.
“I used this before a manicure and it worked brilliantly”
wrote another (no heart but lots of exclamation marks)
“Absolutely LOVE the cuticle butter. Handy little tin, beautiful spa smell and it feels like it is nourishing my cuticles”.
Wow – that’s a lot of love!
So, there you have it. It’s unanimous from the panel at Fabulous Farm Shops. These little pots of loveliness are worth giving a go. Buzz on over to the Neve’s Bees website to see all the gorgeous little pots for yourself and get some flower power on your skin.
Neve’s Bees is very keen to grow in the retail sector and offers excellent POS merchandising and generous margins, so if you are a farm shop looking for some flowery magic for your shelves then email Julie to find out more.
julie@nevesbees.co.uk
nevesbees.co.uk
If you have a product you would like us to review, please contact
theAteam@fabulousfarmshops.co.uk
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